Scripture for Life: The woman accused of adultery was easier to save than the angry mob that sought to stone her. They disappeared after Jesus suffocated the flame of their fury with a wet blanket of honesty. But did they recognize the misery that had made them merciless?

St. Paul, in today’s reading from Galatians, summarizes for us: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” With the urgency and detachment of the 72, we go forth daily, bearing the good news of Christ. Then, as St. Paul says, we will be “a new creation.”